Chinese Telecom Company ZTE Signs a Deal with SoftBank to Deploy its Pre-5G Tech in Japan

Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp declared on Friday that it has come to an agreement with SoftBank Corp to deploy its “pre-5G” technology in Japan. Its commercial trial will begin early next year.

The company claims that its “pre-5G” technology has the potential to provide faster speeds on 4G network. It sees it as an intermediate step between the current 4G technology and 5G.

ZTE’s Vice President Li Cui stated that a research and development center will be set up by the company for wireless technologies in Tokyo by the end of 2015.However, he did not comment on how the company would invest in Japan.

The company is looking forward to invest $220 million in 5G internationally, and mobile communication technologies between 2015 to 2018.